To Get Jennifer Jareau

Chapter 5

*Small Trigger Warning in the middle: mention of previous torture*

SSA Jennifer Jareau's POV

As I walk into Hotch's office, I see him facing the window, his back to me. His suit coat draped around his chair, tie loosened. I've never seen him this relaxed at work before. I cough slightly and he turns around slowly. This was the first time all morning I had seen him, truly seen him. He looked awful, exhausted and like he hadn't really cared enough to take care of himself. I walk over and gently tighten his tie, smoothing out his shirt. His hands go to my hair, gently pushing it off of my shoulders. Chills run down my back as he grazes my neck with his hand. He's gentle with me, but not like Spence. Hotch is showing me that he can be gentle and laid back too. As he pulls me closer, I begin to fix his hair, pushing it into place, our faces inches apart. I pause and look in his eyes, I can tell he is using the utmost self control to refrain from kissing me. The thought of us kissing paralyzes me, what about Spence? Without thinking, I blab,
"I kissed Spence this morning," I say softly, as if not to scare Hotch.
"I know, and I understand" he says back, softly as well.
This shocked me. What did that mean exactly, how did he know?? He's a profiler but no one else knew, how did he? And what does he understand, that I have genuine feelings for both of them? I haven't come to terms with that yet
"JJ, let me show you the same thing Reid did, just one kiss. Not here, but later. Let me have a fair chance, but I will not do a thing you're not comfortable with. If Reid is your one, I respect that and we will pretend this never happen,"
He paused and pulled me closer,
"but if you feel what I do, please give me the opportunity to show you." he says with a low and serious tone
He lets me go and straightens me out, brushing my hair to look like it had never been touched.
"Please call everyone to the conference room, we will do our daily debrief in fifteen minutes" he says in a completely different tone. I nod and head towards the door, reaching at the handle. Hotch grabs my waist from behind and gives me a nice hug,
"I've missed you, JJ" he whispers and then opens the door for me.
My cheeks become a little red but I manage to keep it under control, nodding at him as I leave. I walk to my office and shut the door, catching my breath. That, that was hot. Hotch was the definition of a hot alpha male. But he was also gentle, kind, and caring, a side of him I didn't know existed. Did he seriously miss me? I hadn't been gone that long, just a few weeks. Was that all it took, me getting tortured and having to leave for a few weeks? I sigh and grab my phone to send out the group message: 'Conference Room at 11:15, Daily Debrief' then set it back down. All I can think about and feel is Hotch and Spence, how beautifully different their feelings were. How could I ever choose?

Unit Chief SSA Aaron Hotchner's POV

That really just happened. I am in shock, how do I process this? The most beautiful girl in the world was in my arms, messing with my hair and fixing my shirt. She touched my chest as I held her waist. I did the right thing by not kissing her, but God I wanted to. Just once, to feel her lips against mine, holding her close to me. I didn't protect her before, but now I will. As 11:15 approaches, I make my way to the conference room to find JJ setting out files for potential cases. I stand in the doorway and admire her as she focuses on the task at hand. She has no idea I'm standing here, so I listen as she hums a little tune. She looks up at me and blushes before the others walk in. To be completely truthful, I didn't listen to a word that was said, just voted on cases and went with the majority. All I could see was the sun hitting JJ's hair, her blonde curls contrasting perfectly with her green shirt. We did not vote to take any of the cases presented to us, meaning we had the night off. As everyone left, I walked up to JJ and whisper,
"Tell Spencer you're staying late, I will take care of the rest."
JJ turns around and nods,
"Good idea, I'll see you then." She said lowly but with a smile
She pretends to pull a piece of lint off of my clothing but we both knew it was an excuse to touch me. I don't care about the no dating between coworkers policy we have here. As long as no one told on us, we would keep it extremely professional. Then it hits me, I would need to feel the same way towards Reid if he is who JJ chooses. I sigh and walk back to my office, shutting the door behind me. I have work I need to do.

SSA Dr. Spencer Reid's POV

Something is up, I just can't tell what it is. JJ is acting very distant and afraid. Did someone say something to upset her? Was she getting flashbacks to her recent trauma? I just want to help her, she doesn't need to be afraid alone. I walk up to her office and knock before letting myself in. She seems shocked to see me.
"Spence, what are you doing here?" She asked in a tone of disbelief
"Ohh, I was just coming to check on you. You seem a little off today, has something happened?" I ask
She shook her head no,
"I just had to review a lot of cases today is all. I guess I'm just a bit overwhelmed. I will probably have to work late so I will just get an Uber or ask Hotch to take me home or something." She said very quickly
I nod slowly, something was wrong. She spoke too quickly and she shouldn't have that much work, she is just not returning to work. Her desk seems relatively clear as well. I give her the benefit of doubt, assuming Hotch probably have her some work to do.
"That's okay! Just let me know if you need anything and I'll try my best. I'll see you at home, JJ. Don't work too hard." And with that, I walked out of her office.
She was too suspicious to not be up to something, but I just don't know what it could be. Maybe it was something small like a picture of something triggered a bad memory. Then again, it could be something happy like maybe she has a surprise for me? Whatever it is, im not worried about us. We're perfectly fine, I have done everything I need to do to get Jennifer Jareau.

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How are we feeling? Does Spencer need to be worried? What do you think of Hotch and JJ? Let me know!!